


The Lion- doesn't- Sleep Tonight

by The_FlamingTiger



Series: Bumbleby Week 2019 [4]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anti-Faunus Racism (RWBY), Bumbleby Week 2019, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Faunus Yang Xiao Long
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-07-07 20:46:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19857784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_FlamingTiger/pseuds/The_FlamingTiger
Summary: Day Four of the Bumbleby Week! AU day!What does the blonde with striking purple eyes, a hat and a prosthetic hide behind that bight smile? What is it that she locks up with a million keys? And who could ever be the one to open up her heart?Or: in which Blake is curious to know what her partner hides.





	The Lion- doesn't- Sleep Tonight

**Author's Note:**

> This is, in my opinion, the best work I've written for the Bumbleby Week. Let me know your thoughts ^-^

No one truly knew how Yang Xiao Long had lost her right arm. There were rumors, speculations, and a lot of gossip. Some said she did it by protecting her house from Grimm. Others said it was in a motorcycle accident. Some speculated that it had been fighting a bunch of bandits. None of those were accurate, and the blonde always just brushed it off. She didn't pay much mind to what people said about her arm, as long as they didn't ask her awkward questions. Like, it was funny when it started, but _why were people so interested in knowing if it had a vibration?_ Geez, chill, people.

There was also a discussion over what she hid under her cowgirl hat. Team CRDL once tried stealing it from her head, which resulted in broken noses and bruised ribs for them. After that, no one explicitly talked about it. The subject was buried in the same grave as Cardin Winchester's ego. And Yang was glad for that. What she had under her hat was nobody's business, and whoever she wanted to know, would know. And for now, it was no one but her sister, her father and her uncle.

Blake Belladonna couldn't help but wonder, too, what it was that the taller girl hid. Every time purple eyes fell upon her own yellow ones, she knew there was more to Yang than anyone could tell. Blake had, throughout her life, learned to read people very well. Her parents were influential activists in the Faunus Rights cause, although being humans. They found it very important to treat everyone as equals, so that's what they taught her since a very young age. It gave the raven haired girl the opportunity to make many friends, and to interact with all sorts of people.

Her partner was still a mystery to her. As curious as she was, though, Blake couldn't bring herself to ask Yang about it. She was afraid of hurting their growing friendship, or worse: permanently harming their partnership. The two of them had a duty not only with each other, but also with their team. Blake just couldn't risk losing both her relationship with Yang, and the functionality of the team.

So she held herself back, only talking out her frustrations when she was with her friends from outside the team. And those were Sun Wukong, a monkey faunus who she had befriended in the early months at Beacon, and Ilia Amitola, a chameleon faunus girl whose family was supported by the Belladonna family, and who was her childhood friend. They were in a cafe in Vale, Blake and Sun drinking tea, while Ilia enjoyed a capuchino.

"It's just..." Blake started. "I really wanna know more about her. She's always cheerful, and nice, and sweet. But I can see a longing in her eyes... as if she's hiding something. Something that hurts her deep inside."

"Blake... maybe you're just reading the wrong signs." Ilia said, after sipping from her cup. "From what I could see, she's a very open person. Perhaps she just likes the hat."

"Yeah!" Sun agreed. "And Yang trusts you a big deal. I mean, I've seen y'all do that combo... what was it again? Something bee related..."

"Bumblebee?" Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, that thing! You literally throw her at the enemy. No offense to Neptune, but I would never do something like that with him."

"Sun, Yang and I are partners. We're different people in combat than what we are in our casual, day to day life." The human girl sipped from her tea.

"I think she likes you." Ilia smirked at Blake as she said it, and it grew to a grin when the taller choked.

"What?!"

"And you like her back." Sun joined the teasing.

"No, I don't?" Blake's voice was indignant. "And how would you two know that she likes me? Has she told you anything?!"

"No, she hasn't. But Ilia and I both crushed on you."

"Yeah, we know what it looks like." The chameleon faunus added. "She eyes you whenever you have your head buried in those books of yours. And that means all the damn time."

"That's true. Not to mention how she watches you train."

"How she lets you win most of your wrestling games after you two spar, even though she's physically stronger."

"How she puts herself in harm's way whenever the White Fang is near, because she knows your parents are a threat to their violent ways."

"How she shamelessly flirts with you and you flirt back."

"I get it!" Blake finally broke. "I just... never thought of it that way. Yang is just-" she sighed, not knowing how to explain her thoughts. It wouldn't work anyway. "Has anyone else ever mentioned any of that?"

"Weiss complains about it all the time." Ilia drank a bit more. "She says you two should get a room already."

"Schnee..." Blake said through gritted teeth, just before an idea popped in her head. A devilish smirk took over her features. "So... you and Weiss have been talking a lot?"

"Yeah, yeah. She's coming around. I think living in the same room as you had an influence on her." Ilia answered dismissively.

"Ilia." Sun called, knowing where Blake wanted to get with her teasing. These two had been his friends for a while, and he loved their shenanigans. "We all know that's not what Blake is talking about. You and the Ice Queen... you're seeing each other, aren't ya?"

Immediately, the darker spots on the faunus girl's cheeks turned a bright pink. "I-I... w-we... uh, we're kinda..." she sighed, trying to control how flustered she was. "We've gone on a few dates. She's actually... a pretty decent person when you get to know her."

"I think you look cute together." Sun smiled, supporting.

"I think so, too." Blake smiled too, and she saw Ilia relax and lighten up. The ravenette's mind was far from there, though, all the way to Beacon. She couldn't help but think of Yang, and of everything her friends just said.

Maybe se did have feelings for her partner...

-+-

Some weeks later, Blake and Yang were sent in a training mission. They were alone, as it was a project in which they should develop their partnership, and their field skills. It was supposed to test their abilities far from the comfort zone that was being under one of the professors' wings. As huntresses in training who were in the beginning of their second year, they appreciated this opportunity of experiencing actual independence. It was nice.

And Blake lowkey wanted to have some alone time with her partner. She had decided that she would confront Yang about... whatever it was. She kept it in mind to not make any assumptions, and to not go too fast with her questions. Blake didn't want to scare Yang off, she wanted to be let in.

The two of them didn't have time for that right now, though. Exploring the forest in the outskirts of Mountain Glenn had given them a bit of trouble, as they were intercepted by a bunch of creatures of Grimm. They had cleaned most of them, but three remained, giving them a bit more of a fight. Out of the corner of her eyes, Blake saw Yang duck an Ursa paw, and then punch the beast in the gut, sending it into a tree. The black haired girl herself was facing two Beowolves- an Alpha and a regular one. She jumped back as one tried to take a bite at her.

'Shit,' she thought. 'I can't let myself get distracted like that.'

Blake put her katana in pistol mode, shooting at the exhausted, weaker one's head. It was soon gone in a fuzz of smoke. The only one remaining was the Alpha, which got it all fours, ready to lunge at her. The girl readied herself too, grabbing the sheath of Gambol Shroud. The monster attacked, and she slid under it. Then, she got her weapon back into a sword, and attacked it several times.

Yang was not doing all that bad, either. The Ursa she had chosen to unleash her fire upon was not far from becoming ashes. She kicked its face, then punched it repeatedly in the stomach. The sound of her gauntlet and of the gun in her prosthetic firing filled the clearing, and it was all she could hear. She did capture, though, the moment Blake grunted in pain as the Alpha she was fighting pawed her, throwing her a few feet backwards, her back and her head hitting a tree. Her purple aura shone as the impact shattered it, since she had received many blows earlier that night.

The blonde turned to see what happened, her eyes widening and turning red. "Blake!" Came the almost feral cry. The growl behind her got her back to her own risky situation. She had to act fast.

Yang blocked the Ursa's claws with her right arm, and with the other she punched its head. The monster finally vanished, and the girl could finally focus on helping her partner. She fired her guns, jumping in the direction of the Beowolf. It was jumping at Blake, who was supporting herself against the tree. Her hand was on her forehead, eyes closed as her head started aching. When they opened, they immediately went wide. Just as she thought it was done for her, a mess of fire and blond hair changed the beast's trajectory, both going into the forest.

Blake got herself up, still dizzy from the impact. She heard a few gunshots and walked slowly there, trying to ignore low ringing in her ears. In the way, she found Yang's hat, which apparently was taken out of her head by a tree branch. She grabbed it, and followed the track of destruction left by the blonde and the Grimm. When she found them, Blake's shock was written all over her face.

"You. Ain't. Ever. Touching. My. Partner. Again!" Yang shouted between punches, her voice almost a roar. The girl's rage wasn't what shocked Blake the most, though.

On top of Yang's head was a pair of lion ears, that were back and low as she striked the creature multiple times. Even in the dark, Blake could see the lines of the faunus trait very clearly. When it was finally over, the faunus was sweaty and gasping for air. Her dark brownish-gold ears were up, as the danger had vanished and her anger was slowly coming to an end. Blake accidentally stumbled back, the shock from the sight in front of her and the hit to her head affecting her body. She stepped on a stick, and Yang's left ear turned to her, followed by her head.

As red eyes became violet once again as they stared softly into Blake's own. Then, when she realized where the yellow orbs were, she panicked. She noticed the hat in Blake's hand, and her eyes widened even more, almost taking her whole face.

"Blake, I-" she wasn't able to finish the sentence, as the other girl tried walking to her, only to lose her balance and almost fall. She supported herself on a tree, and tried to stand still. "Blake!" Yang ran to her, trying to think of what to do. She put a hand on the girl's shoulder, worry all over her features. "Hey, what's going on?"

"I... I'm not feeling all that well." Blake closed her eyes, as the pain in her head got even more intense, her ears ringing with even more intensity. "My head..."

"L-Let's get you back... to the camp." Yang gulped. "Do you... can you walk there?"

"I... don't think so." Blake answered, groaning in pain.

"Would you like me to, you know... um... carry you there?"

Blake was silent for a few seconds, but then nodded. She whined in pain, as it made her head hurt more. Yang just nodded back, putting one of the other's arms over her shoulder, and one of her own arms went to the girl's back for support. The other went under her knees, and soon she was walking back to their camp. It was in another clearing, a bit to the north of the one where they battled the Grimm. Blake still had the hat in the hand that wasn't holding on to Yang's shoulder. Her head was against her partner's chest, and she listened to her heartbeat as she gave in to sleep.

-+-

Blake woke up a few hours after that. She was inside the tent, in her sleeping bag. The headache had dulled a bit, and she guessed it was because her aura was full again. The young woman sat up, rubbing her eyes with her left hand. She then sighed, deciding to get out of the tent and see how Yang was holding up. It turned out the sky was already gaining the colors of dawn, and she had to cover her eyes as they tried to adjust to the light.

When she was finally able to see again, she spotted Yang sitting on a tree trunk they found to use as a bench. She was staring at Blake with a sweet smile, and her ears were free from the prison of the hat. Her whole being looked amazing in the light, and showing her faunus trait like that made her look... whole. It was like the hat covered the missing piece of a puzzle, and the entirety of Yang's beauty was unlocked by having them out.

It was not that Blake thought her partner didn't look good with the hat. She actually looked awesome with it, too. Yang looked beautiful all the time. It's just that this part of the faunus girl made her look natural, and like the greatest masterpiece ever created. The most beautiful being ever born. Yang looked exactly how Blake thought her heart would look if it were a person.

"Um... you can come sit with me. If you want." Yang finally said, her eyes going down and her pale cheeks turning red. Blake gave a nervous chuckle, and walked to the bench. She sat beside the blonde, "accidentally" bumping her shoulder against Yang's own. The taller girl didn't move away, brushing her hand against the ravenette's own instead. Her pinky was over Blake's own, and the smaller girl blushed.

They were silent for a few moments, until Yang spoke again.

"So..."

"So." Blake said, looking at her partner, and Yang looked back at her. The violet eyes held an emotion that Blake had not seen there yet. The blonde's metallic fingers came in contact with the other's cheek.

"I was so worried. So scared that..." Yang sighed, her eyes closing and her head low. Blake's hands shot up, taking the other woman's cheeks in them.

"Hey." She called softly. "Yang, look at me." Violet eyes opened to show unshed tears. "I'm sorry I put you through that."

"Just... be more careful, please. I don't want anything happening to you. I know we're being trained to that kind of fight, but..." the girl trailed off, looking at her yellow, mechanical fingers. Blake noticed the change, and put her left handover the one in her cheek.

"Is there... do you wanna talk about it?"

"No." Yang said, pulling away. Blake's heart dropped to her stomach and a lump formed in her throat. She had done exactly what she didn't want to do. She had made her partner push her away. She- "I never want to talk about it. But... I guess I have to. Now that you know about them," golden ears twitched in emphasis, "you may as well know the story behind it all."

"Yang... you don't have to. Not if you're not ready. I'd never want to push you into talking about it, not if it makes you uncomfortable."

"You aren't pushing me. I've... actually been meaning to talk to you for some time now. I know what your parents do for people like me. For the faunus. I was gonna ask for your help to... encourage myself to get out of hiding my heritage."

"Oh..." Blake let out in awe. Yang wanted her help with something like that? It made her chest feel warm, and butterflies fly all over her stomach. "I'll do anything my power. Just tell me how I can help, and I will do it."

"Well, I think we can start with what happened. As you know, from that time you went White Fang crazy and I told you about my obsession, my mother left and I went after answers for her whereabouts. The story I told you is not exactly all that happened, though."

Blake felt her body temperature drop a few degrees, knowing what she was about to hear would not be a happy story at all. "And... what happened?"

"It was almost night...

_Ruby and I had entered a small diner by the woods. We were just kids, so I guessed no one would mess with us. Dad always taught us to not talk to strangers, so I thought only doing that would work. In my head, it was all pretty simple. Walk in. Ask the bartender- who, to me, seemed to be someone we could trust- for the information I wanted. Walk out with what I needed, and find that damned house._

_The part of going in went alright, but the adults in there looked... scary. Shady. And they stared at me and at my ears like I was some kind of abomination. They seemed to want to take Ruby from me, so I held her close. I didn't know why they were acting like that, since to me a faunus and a human being sisters wasn't something weird. Besides, as you know, Ruby only looks human. Those claws of hers are killers. I've always loved and protected her with my whole being, I didn't get why anyone would ever assume I would do something bad to her._

_"Sis... I'm scared..." I remember Ruby's small voice saying as she clinged to my arm._

_"We'll be out soon. I promise." I answered, and kept walking to the balcony. "Sir," I called the bartender, who was cleaning some glasses, and he looked down at me._

_"What is it?" His voice was rough, and rude._

_"Um... do you know this woman?" I showed him a picture of Raven, and he leaned down to look at it._

_"Never seen 'er around." He shrugged. "Now get out, before you get me in trouble."_

_My eyebrows furrowed, and I wondered what kind of trouble a little girl and a toddler could cause. "I'm already going. Just one more question-"_

_"Didn't ya hear the man, little beast?!" A tall, black haired man punched the balcony, his green eyes shining with anger, spite and violence. He was smoking, and he smelled like alcohol. Everything about him was scary, but the worst part was... that he was a huntsman. "Can't you read a sign to save your life? Huh? Right by the door, it says 'no faunus allowed'. I don't come to this bar to find your scum of a race!"_

_"S-sorry, sir..." my whole body was shaking, and my ears were glued to my skull, seeming to want to vanish. "I-I just wanted s-some information. I-It's very importan-"_

_"I don't care what you want!" He started walking in our direction, and I put myself in front of Ruby as we walked backwards. "Just get the fuck out of here, you small, filthy abomination! Go, and never fucking come back!" His voice filled the whole building, and I grabbed Ruby's hand and ran out of that terrible place._

_Once she was in the wagon, I started running the way I'd never run before. I ran for what felt like hours, until I was exhausted, and most likely lost. Ruby was sleeping in the wagon, and I was glad she wasn't hurt. My mind was filled with thoughts, though. Why did he treat me like that? Why do people hate faunus? Did I do something wrong?_

_As I let these demons roam my mind freely, I kept walking and didn't notice the monsters outside. Beowolves were watching us, waiting for the right time to strike. They were probably attracted by the negativityof my thoughts. But all I could see was the path in front of me, the trail leading somewhere. That darned abandoned house from that photograph I had seen. The building that got me into that mess. For a moment, I forgot all the hardships of the day, and felt fulfilled as my goal was apparently achieved._

_The nightmare wasn't over, though._

_I took one more step, and hell broke loose. The pack of Beowolves jumped out of the dark trees. I was too tired to react. Ruby was basically passed out in the wagon, so shouting at her to run would do little to nothing. So I stood there in horror and shock, as death stared at me with shining, hungry orange and red eyes. One of them- the Alpha- was the first to jump at us, and it was going for Ruby, specifically._

_"No!" Came the cry from my dry throat. Out of impulse, despair, and the desire to protect my little sister, I put my right arm in front of her. The Grimm took it, the bite sending pain through my whole body. It shook me around a few times and my yells woke Ruby up. Everything was a bit messy after that, but I still remember her silver eyes looking at me in shock and in fear. I remember her shouting for help. I remember when it threw me into a tree, and I remember Uncle Qrow calling my name and telling me to hold on._

After that, I never went out showing my ears again. I felt like my heritage was the responsible for all that happened after I set foot in that bar. To me, everything went wrong after that. And I... I blamed myself for that man's prejudice. I blamed myself for the fact that I was so terrified I didn't notice my surroundings. I blamed myself for putting Ruby's life in danger. I thought it was my fault I was born a faunus and I never wanted to go through what I went through that day again."

Blake felt her heart clench as she looked at Yang, who had her eyes on the yellow prosthetic. Her ears were a bit dropped, and the purple eyes had sadness, pain and some anger in them. From what she just heard, the black haired girl assumed the anger wasn't towards the man who'd been so ruthless to her when she was just a child. Yang was angry at herself.

Blake couldn't watch that any longer, and put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Hey," her voice was soft, caring. "It's not your fault that people like that exist. Your heritage isn't a crime either, and you shouldn't feel the need to blame yourself for having it." Yang looked at her, a small smile forming. Her eyes started shedding the tears she had been holding back, and Blake reached out to whip them with her unoccupied hand. "I actually think they're gorgeous. Your ears." Her voice was just a bit above whisper.

Yang let herself relax, exhaling slowly and nuzzling against Blake's palm. Her lion ears captured how fast the other girl's heart was beating, and it was just as fast as her own. She then closed her eyes again, leaning in to rest her forehead against Blake's own. A low chuckle echoed from her throat, and Blake could hear the relief in it.

She decided to pull Yang into a hug, holding the girl close, arms around her shoulders. Yang hugged her back after the shock wore down. Blake didn't start contact very often, so she wanted to make the most of it. The blonde nuzzled against the shorter's shoulder, sighing in relief to find comfort in somebody's arms. As Blake's hands descended to her back, rubbing up and down, the blonde could feel all the tension leaving her.

"Did you get any sleep?" The raven haired girl asked softly. "You seem so tired..."

"I kept on watch all night. I thought you needed some rest after everything that happened."

Blake's heart beat a bit faster with that. Yang was always so thoughtful, and it made her chest go warm. "Well... I'm awake now. You should get some rest, too."

"Are you alright, though? I mean, you hit your head and back really hard." Yang pulled away, and looked at Blake with a smirk. Her hands were in the human girl's waist, thumbs rubbing her sides, and Blake's hands were in Yang's shoulders. "Wouldn't want princess here to faint."

"Princess?" Blake raised and eyebrow, looking around. "Did we bring Weiss to the trip?"

Yang laughed out loud at that, and it was music to Blake's ears. "You're a jerk. But don't worry, I won't tell Weiss. My ears kill me when she throws her tantrums when we call her princess."

"Thank you. And if I had feline ears, I wouldn't want to have someone yelling near me, either."

"That makes me wonder what would be your heritage if you were a faunus."

"Panther ears, maybe?"

"More like cat ears."

"Why cat ears?"

"You would look even feistier with cat ears on your head when you're upset."

"Panther ears would make me look intimidating. Wouldn't that be better?"

"Nah, your death glares are scary enough."

Blake slapped Yang's shoulder lightly. "Jerk." Both giggled, touching foreheads again. They knew exactly what they were doing, the lines they were crossing. They knew they would have to talk about it later, and they knew it would bring some changes to the way they act around each other. In that moment, though, they didn't pay much mind to that and just enjoyed themselves.

They stayed in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, until Yang yawned. Blake didn't say anything, just putting her hand on the back of the blonde's head. The faunus let her head be lightly pushed to Blake's shoulder, and her eyes slowly closed. Her breathing was soon steady, and her partner could tell she was sleeping.

Blake kept caressing the blond locks, some times brushing lightly against Yang's ears. She still couldn't believe that such a sweet, caring person as the woman in her arms could have a past this tragic. She wasn't sure if she would be able to remain uncorrupted if she had experienced anything anywhere near what Yang went through. It made Blake love the blonde even more, knowing her soul was kind to the point she didn't hate the world, even after being forced to hide. Even after losing a part of herself. And she knew there was still much work to do on getting Yang's confidence to let her ears free more often back. She wouldn't give up, though.

She would help Yang. She would fight beside her. They would win against the chains of discrimination.

And Blake made a promise to always do everything in her power to not let anything ever harm Yang like that. She would protect her partner to hell and back, and she knew the faunus would do the same for her.

Because no matter the circumstances, no matter the hardships. No matter the world, or the universe they were in. They would always be there for each other.

**Author's Note:**

> So... if any of you is interested in a sequel to this, you can tell me and I might do it! I really enjoyed writing this concept on Blake and Yang ^-^


End file.
